Wood-burning fireplaces within houses and other buildings are nearly as old as houses and buildings themselves and serve both functional and aesthetic purposes. With the rise of modern central heating systems, fireplaces have more and more become things that are primarily of aesthetic concern only. Indeed, many homes that include fireplaces typically make little use of them even in winter, despite the fact that they provide two types of warmth and comfort—physical warmth and comfort to those nearby and the psychological warmth and comfort associated with innumerable memories and stories of family gatherings “by the fireplace”—and President Roosevelt's famous “fireside chats.”
But functional fireplaces also involve the attendant well-known problems of preventing heat loss up the chimney, particularly when the fireplace is not in use. And, since fireplaces in homes are often considered visual focal points for the rooms they serve, the matter of the appearance of a fireplace is often also a primary concern.
It is to these fireplace-related problems and concerns that the present invention is directed.
Decorative screens are used for a wide variety of other purposes, such as to provide a degree of privacy or to cover interior or exterior openings in homes or other structures. Providing decorative screens of remarkable appearance often depends almost primarily, if not exclusively, on the artistic ability of the creating artist, and not primarily on the nature of the structure. This invention is also directed toward creation of a decorative screen of a different structural nature.